Lessons In Maturity
by Perhapsormaybe
Summary: Alien Force. Tired of how they act, Gwen challenges Ben and Kevin - one week, actually acting their age. Will it get in the way of alien fighting? How will it affect how Gwen and Julie see them? And...why are they having a dinner party? Ben/Julie Kevin/Gw
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **Well, right after I finished Changing Times last night, I started thinking. I was surprised by how many people asked for a sequel, and I may go back and do one later (though I feel that all the situations were wrapped up quite nicely, so it would most likely just be my view of their future lives). What made me decide against it for now was that more than a few readers were kind of sad Julie wasn't in the last chapter, and as much as I love it, Gwen/Kevin does seem to get a lot more stories. So I wanted a plot I could use to try to play both sides evenly, concentrating on Ben just as much, if not maybe a bit more, than Kevin. (Which is hard. I _adore_ Ben, but Kevin's character has so many facets to it that it can be too much for a writer to pass on). With that in mind, and contemplating how my old high school boyfriends all acted, this story came to me. I'm hoping for it to be much longer than Changing Times, but we'll see. Plus, I didn't get as much of a chance with humor in Changing Times as I normally like…and I've always loved writing comedy.

"Tennyson, you're letting him get away!" Kevin growled, trying to wrestle a DNalien to the ground. Ben, however, seemed frozen. He was in the form of Big Chill, but he just hovered in the air, trying to decide something. "Any day now, Ben!"

Finally coming to a conclusion, Big Chill took off. In the exact _opposite _direction of the High Breed Kevin had been spurring him after.

"Oh, c'mon! He's like, eight feet tall!" Kevin shouted, punching the DNalien's lights out, "Don't tell me he thought he should be chasing some _other_ alien freak."

"I'm sure Ben has his reasons," Gwen said calmly, lassoing the remainder of the alien-human hybrids with her power. She held them all there, her fist clenched tightly. "Ben wouldn't run out on a fight for no reason."

"I didn't say 'no reason', but it could still be a bad reason," Kevin pointed out. Gwen rolled her eyes.

Her green eyes searched the dark factory, looking for any sign of her cousin. She sighed. It was not easy holding this many aliens in place for so long. If Ben didn't come back soon, she was going to have to release all of them.

Thankfully, Ben returned a moment later in his human form, a very confused man at his side. "Sorry, guys," Ben apologized. "But I noticed this guy was acting weird during the fight…thought I could get the xenocyte out of him, and well…it worked!"

"Thank you," The man said, giving Ben an impromptu hug before running off, shouting the whole way "I'm free!". Gwen released the Dnaliens from her energy, and they all ran off, presumably to join their master again.

Kevin looked livid.

"What's wrong with you?" Ben asked.

"What's wrong with _me_? What's wrong with you, man?! You had a chance to capture a high breed, one of the main big bad guys, and you chose to go after a dnalien instead?"

"I _had _to," Ben defended himself. "It was just like that time with Tyler. That guy was fighting back. He wanted to be human again."

"You could have waited. We could have found him after we got the big baddie, but no, you had to run off and play 'noble' hero, without even bothering to tell us. What if Gwen got hurt?"

"Um..I'm fine," Gwen pointed out, reluctant to get brought into the fight.

"Gwen's a big girl," Ben gestured towards his cousin, "Something you've _obviously _noticed! She can take care of herself, and you know that!"

"Seriously, guys, leave me out of this," Gwen threw her hands up in surrender, wishing they would stop.

"It doesn't matter if she can or not. The odds were way against us, and you still ran off and left us to fight an entire hoard by ourselves! Next time, think the whole thing through!"

"Oh, look at that, the ex-con is trying to tell _me_ to think things through!" Ben returned acidly.

Kevin glared. "Well maybe that's _why_ you should listen to me. I know how bad guys think-"

"Yeah? Well maybe that's because deep down, you're still one of them!"

Kevin's hands were clenched into fists. Ben's hand was slowly reaching towards his omnitrix, but Gwen raised her arms, forcing an energy shield between the two teenage boys.

"All right, that's enough!"

"He started it!" Both Ben and Kevin said at the same time.

"I don't _care_ who started it!" Gwen yelled, "I'm ending it. Kevin, Ben just wanted to help an innocent person out. There's nothing wrong with that." Ben smirked, assuming his cousin had sided with him. "But Ben, you still shouldn't leave us alone like that, especially not without warning us where you're going."

Ben's smirk fell, and Kevin seemed to somehow gain it.

"I don't want to hear any more from either of you on the ride home," Gwen threatened, making her way back towards the car.

Ben and Kevin exchanged looks, but immediately both remembered they were still mad at the other. "Now look what you've done," they said in unison.

"Okay, that does it!" Gwen stopped ahead of them, turning on her heel to face them again. "You two are so unbelievably immature. Ben, you're a nice guy, but sometimes I swear, it's like we're back on the Rust Bucket and you're still ten years old," Kevin snickered, and Gwen rounded on him. "And you! You're no better…you might even be worse! Instead of arguing over things like this, why can't you both just be happy that we stopped the plan for tonight _and_ another human's been saved from being a dnalien?"

"You're calling me immature?" Kevin asked, seeming both annoyed and confused by Gwen's monologue.

"Imagine that," Gwen spat with sarcastic venom. "Why do I bother? You two are never going to grow up. You may be the most immature people I've ever met."

"Hey, that's not true!" Ben claimed, "I mean, you've met Cash. He's pretty immature."

"I don't risk my life on a daily basis with Cash," Gwen returned.

"Technically it's more of a 'nightly' basis," Kevin pointed out.

Gwen sighed. "Not what I mean."

"So, what, just because Ben and I don't use four dollar words like you do, we're immature?" Kevin asked. He seemed to have completely forgotten that it was Ben he was fighting with only moments ago.

"That's not why. It's just the way both of you act!" Gwen crossed her arms. "Let's just go."

"No. Not until you take it back," Kevin said stubbornly.

"Well, then, we're going to be here all night," Gwen matched his stubbornness perfectly at times. Ben sighed.

"I'm not that immature," He finally spoke up.

"All right, Ben gets a ride back," Kevin said, crossing his arms, trying to lay down the challenge to Gwen. "Anyone else is going to have to walk unless they say the magic words."

"No such thing as magic," Gwen imitated Kevin.

He glared. "Oh, whatever. Stop being such a prissy princess and just say that you didn't mean it."

"I don't want to lie," Gwen said, looking away.

Ben felt he should do something, but he was still a little hurt that his cousin had called him immature. He really felt he'd done a lot of growing up in the five years between the first omnitrix version and the new one. He knew he was being a little stubborn, probably even proving his cousin right, but he couldn't bring himself to voice it.

"All right, all right," Gwen agreed. "I'll take it back,"

"Finally," Kevin muttered.

"_After _you prove it."

"What?"

"You heard me. Both of you, for one week…I want to see both of you act like mature adults. No more placing the blame on each other, no bad imitations of me when you think I'm not looking," she narrowed her eyes at Ben, who suddenly became very interested in the floor, "you both have to actually act like your age."

"And if we don't agree to this?" Kevin asked, sure the red head wouldn't come up with anything horrible enough to agree to it.

"Then you don't get a prize," Gwen knew exactly how to tailor this competition so that neither boy would want to back out. "You finish out the week, and Ben…I'll pay for your next five comic books."

"Deal," Ben agreed.

"I'm not so easy to buy," Kevin pointed out.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Kevin," Gwen smiled, seeing an extra little opportunity in the bet. "How about…a date?"

"I don't know," Kevin looked away, pretending to be thinking it over. "What makes you so sure that I'll play for something like that?"

"Because you like a challenge," Gwen said, as though it were completely obvious. But Kevin hadn't masked his excitement over the prospect. She could hear it in his voice.

"All right, I'll play your little game," He agreed.

"Oh, quid pro quo though," Gwen added.

"….A what now?" Kevin asked.

"Well, first of all, there's one rule. Either one of you fails, you both fail," Gwen smiled. She was in control now. "And of course…if you lose, you have to give me something."

"And what is it that you want?" Kevin's eyes were narrowed suspiciously, but Ben didn't seem bothered by it.

"You'll find out when you lose."

"Then we won't be finding out," Ben said, coming forward to shake on the deal. "Sorry, cous, but you're going down."

Gwen reached and shook first Ben's hand, then Kevin's. The deals were sealed. "We'll just see about that."

**Author's Note: **No Julie so far, but she will be here later. At first, it was going to be a competition between Kevin and Ben, but I decided it was more fun if they had to depend on each other. I know Ben has grown up, but we've still seen that he can be a bit immature from time-to-time, and I'm sure sometimes, between being around him and Kevin, Gwen probably wants to scream in frustration. The date wasn't going to be the prize for Kevin, but I honestly couldn't think of anything else he'd want from Gwen (except maybe a kiss…)


	2. I Want In

**Author's Note: **I'm reluctant to keep posting so quickly, but these Ben 10 stories are actually highly addictive to write, and I've gotten such great responses on them. I love that these characters allow for so many possibilities. Plus this makes the time go by faster…being jobless right now kind of sucks. The only highlight of my day before was when the baby kicked (I'm currently about four and a half months pregnant). Watching Alien Force has become something that reconnected me with my love of cartoons, my love of writing, and my love of art. As such, these stories mean a lot to me, and so does the fact that I've got such kind people responding to them. So long as you keep reading, I'll try to keep writing.

Also, technically, this chapter probably would have disqualified Ben already if Gwen had been there.

* * *

"So, we agreed to the bet," Ben summed up the situation as best as he could to his girlfriend, Julie. They were sitting in a booth at Mr. Smoothie's, him sipping a ginger root, banana, and durian smoothie, Julie with a raspberry pineapple.

"Okay, let me get this straight," Julie leaned forward, supported by her arms being crossed on top of the table. "You and Kevin have to be as mature as possible for exactly one week, starting today, and if either of you fail, you both fail?"

"That's the general idea."

"Wow," Julie sat back, leaning into the cushion on the back of her seat, the faux leather seeming to groan as she moved. "Anyway Gwen will let me in on her side of the bet?"

"That's not funny," Ben pouted.

"Sorry, but how often do you get your chance to be in on a sure thing?" Julie said cheerfully, giving Ben a pat on the hand.

"And why is that exactly?" Ben raised an eyebrow. It was fine that his cousin didn't believe he could do this, but his own girlfriend? That was just plain harsh.

"It's not that I don't believe in you, Ben," Julie said, anticipating his train of thought, "It's mainly Kevin, really. You have to depend on him, and well…Kevin's not really known for maturity."

"Oh. That's why," Ben seemed much happier by this response. In truth, he had the same fear. The way Kevin interacted with Gwen alone would probably get them to lose within a forty-eight hour period.

"Well, Kevin and…" Julie looked away, trying desperately not to make eye contact. "Your jokes."

"..My jokes?!" Ben looked shocked. "My jokes are hilarious. You laugh at them yourself!"

"Well, yeah, but they're kind of silly," Julie swirled her straw through her smoothie, pretending to be transfixed by the mixture. "I mean, they're all right, and they're funny, but…uh…they don't really uh…air on the mature side."

Ben crossed his arms. "Gee, nice to know I have my girlfriend's support."

"Sorry, Ben," Her dark eyes met his green ones shyly. "I really do find your jokes funny. But I think Gwen might…misinterpret. And since she's the one who's going to be deciding…." She trailed off.

"Okay, you're right, you're right," Ben agreed.

"Speaking of Gwen," Julie was trying to change the subject now, and Ben thought it better to just let her do so. "Where are she and Kevin at? You three are usually glued at the hip."

"Gwen had a karate match, and Kevin wanted to go see her kick someone's butt."

"That didn't lose you guys the maturity contest?" Julie asked, shocked. It didn't seem like something a mature person would say.

"Nah, because we made the arrangement _before_ we went to fight aliens yesterday, so, it was still in place after the bet became active."

"They coming here afterwards?"

"Yeah, they should be. They said they meet up with me, and I –"

"Practically live here," Julie finished his sentence for him. "Sometimes I think your internal engine runs on smoothies."

"Hmm…now there's an idea," Ben smiled, gulping down the rest of his smoothie and wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket. "If I could only provide evidence of that, maybe I could get my parents to up my allowance to pay for more. Wouldn't want their son breaking down because of a smoothie shortage, right?"

Julie rolled her eyes. "I'm not sure the idea of 'maturity' has sunk in with you yet," she teased.

"It better have," Kevin had entered the smoothie establishment very quietly, calling no attention to himself until now. Both Ben and Julie jumped when they heard his voice. "Can I sit down?" Ben nodded, and Kevin took the seat beside him. "Now, Tennyson, what's this about you not acting mature?"

"Where's Gwen?" Ben wasn't trying to change the subject, he was honestly curious.

"I told her I wasn't going to her karate match because my reasons before weren't mature enough," Kevin smirked. "_That _seemed to confuse her. But I think it got us off on a pretty good start. That is, if you don't screw it up."

"Wow…you really want that date, don't you?" Julie noted, looking away when Kevin glared at her, whistling innocently.

"It's not about the date!" he insisted. "I just think Ben and I should put Gwen in her place. You know, teach her that guys aren't as immature as she thinks we are…"

"So, that means if we win, you _won't _be going on the date with Gwen?" Ben asked, shocked.

"I never said that," Kevin had a gleam in his eyes. He smiled and leaned back. "Obviously, Gwen knew we'd pass her little test. She just wants me."

Ben held in a laugh. He knew Kevin didn't really _mean _what he'd said, but it was still really funny to him. "Okay, fair enough. But are you going to pick her up from karate, still? We have to do patrol tonight."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Don't get your panties in a twist."

Julie shook her head at both boys and grabbed her book bag from under the table. "I've gotta head home. Ben, I'll see you at school tomorrow. Kevin, I'll just see you around."

She calmly walked outside and looked around. No one in sight. She glanced back at the windows of Mr. Smoothie's, where she could clearly see Kevin and Ben engaged in conversation. She let out a sigh of relief as she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Gwen's number.

"Hey, Gwen," Julie said cheerfully. "No, nothing's wrong. I just heard about your bet with the guys. ….really? Okay, care to make a wager with me on that? All right…you say five days? Nah. I don't think they'll last two. Yeah, I think by tomorrow one of them will crack. I mean, you know how Kevin gets around you, and Ben…." She giggled. "Nah, he'll understand. Plus if I win, I'll treat him to a movie or something to make up for betting against him. All right, Gwen. I'll see you later. Keep me updated, okay?"

**Author's note: **No, I don't think Julie's evil. But she does seem the type to be able to scheme, so betting against her boyfriend when she thinks he's going to lose seems like something she would do (so long as Ben wouldn't be hurt in any way). I figure Kevin, surprisingly, would be the one to take the bet the most seriously out of everyone. Why? He's not ready to ask Gwen out yet, but he obviously _really _wants her. This way he doesn't have to even ask, she just goes with him because she already agreed to it, and technically, he wins on two levels.


	3. Nighttime Reflections

**Author's Note: **It isn't as late as it normally is when I write, so let's see if the creative juices flow three hours early tonight. This story has already caught up to Changing Times in terms of author alerts, and I couldn't be more thrilled. Thanks again to everyone reading this, and if you ever have a suggestion (or just something you'd like to see in the story), feel free to ask.

"How'd karate go?" Ben asked, taking his cousin's shoulder bag from her and placing it beside him in the back. Gwen crawled into the passenger's seat and buckled in before responding.

"Oh, it was fine. Still undefeated," she smiled at both Kevin and Ben in turn. Both smiled back, and Gwen was perhaps a bit too pleased that both boys looked incredibly nervous.

On a technical level, Gwen couldn't be everywhere at once, and so, Kevin and Ben only had to act with maturity while they were around her. It should have given them an edge in the bet, but instead it worked against them. They were so busy focusing on not screwing up at that time that they couldn't even bring themselves to talk with her, afraid of saying the wrong thing.

"Are you both all right?" Gwen asked. She was kind of surprised to see both Kevin and Ben so speechless. Usually by now at least one of them had cracked a joke, often at the other's expense.

Both boys nodded, but said nothing.

"Okay, so, are we just going to drive around, or do either one of you have a tip?" Gwen tried to relax them by bringing Plumber business to the foreground, to put the bet out of their minds. That seemed to work.

"Please, Tennyson doesn't get tips," Kevin muttered. Ben opened his mouth to protest, but quickly shut it again. "And I haven't heard anything, either. It's quiet…"

"Too quiet?" Gwen suggested. Kevin nodded.

"We know the DNAliens are still up to something," Ben threw his two cents in, "The problem is that they've finally learned how to keep their operation pretty quiet. Usually we could follow rumors until we picked something up, but I haven't heard anything."

"More like _I _haven't heard anything," Kevin glanced in the rearview at Ben. "Unless you're saying…" he trailed off when he noticed Gwen smirking at him. "What?" He asked, irritated.

"Oh, nothing. You almost lost, though," she said with a smile, and then turned to look out the window. "Either way, you're both right. No noise from DNAliens _or _Forever Knights. Normally that would be a good sign, but I'm not sure I trust it. Neither one of them ever operated with a tremendous amount of subtlety before."

"So they've probably wised up," Ben surmised. "Which means that what's coming is more important than ever…"

"Or that they've learned to keep their deformed mouths shut a little better," Kevin offered.

"Let's go home for the night," Ben suggested. "We can't drive around aimlessly forever. We'll try to pick up hints tomorrow during the day. It's a Saturday, so we can get a really early start."

"Aww, man, Tennyson. How early are we talking here?" Kevin asked, more than a little annoyed.

"I dunno. How's eight for everyone?" Ben suggested. Gwen nodded in agreement.

Kevin groaned. "Easy enough for you. You've just got to get up on time and get dressed. You don't have to get up half an hour early to get dressed _and _pick everybody up."

"Most adults have the common sense to go to bed at a reasonable hour so they can get up at a decent hour," Gwen studied her nails as she made the comment, knowing it would get under Kevin's skin.

Her bid worked. Kevin sighed. "All right, all right. I'm a mature, sensitive guy," he threw a glare in the rear view mirror. Ben had almost choked on a laugh at the idea of Kevin being sensitive. "I'll pick both of you up at eight."

"Great!" Gwen agreed, giving Kevin a pat on the shoulder. "Tomorrow at eight it is."

* * *

Ben couldn't sleep that night. He sat up in his bed, constantly staring at the clock, certain he'd had his eyes closed for hours. Every time, he was disappointed. He'd woken up and checked the clock more than five times in just a matter of an hour.

Giving up, he hopped out of bed, closing his eyes and wincing when his feet hit the cold floor boards. If he hadn't already been so alert, that would have _really _woken him up.

He crossed over to the window, staring outside. No one was out there. This quiet part of the suburbs was completely untouched. For a moment, Ben almost felt like a normal fifteen year-old boy. One glance at the omnitrix fixed that illusion.

He was in fact, _not _a normal boy. He had enjoyed five years of normalcy before putting the omnitrix back on, but he had to admit, he'd missed being a hero during that time. Still, until he received his grandfather's message a few months ago, he hadn't thought for a moment about putting the alien artifact back on.

Perhaps this was why his cousin had suggested the bet. He sighed. The responsibility weighed so heavily on his shoulders that somehow, jokes were just how he handled it all. Kevin handled it by pounding the heck out of every villain they faced. Gwen just seemed to…handle it. To some degree, he envied how in control Gwen was. She was easily the most mature of the threesome, and he wondered if sometimes that made things harder for her.

But then, he reasoned, Gwen had had extra time to master her powers. Those five years between the two omnitrix adventures had allowed her ample time to study her powers. In fact, she had been practicing every night for at least an hour after her homework. Gwen fit everything into a tight schedule. That was how _she _dealt with things.

The truth was, the bet was not in the least bit important to Ben. Gwen had stopped wanting to embarrass him years ago, so he doubted whatever he would owe her would probably be money or a simple favor. He was still going along with it because of how intensely focused Kevin was on the bet.

Kevin was still an enigma, but he was an enigma Ben could at least trust in. Ever since he'd been made an official Plumber, Kevin seemed all the more interested in actually getting their job done. In fighting aliens and forever knights and whatever else was thrown their way. Ben knew that a big influence for Kevin was Kevin's own father, but Kevin had admitted that while it was his biggest reason, it was not his _only _reason.

Kevin had never admitted to the other reason, but Ben already had a vague idea that Gwen was involved. He had been so quick to protect Gwen, even when he was only 'fulfilling a promise to the magistar'.

Ben was sympathetic. Being a superhero, especially one with unusual powers, made it pretty hard to find a date. He frowned back to when he'd first met Kai. She was a nice girl, after all, but that had been a disaster. He'd thought for sure Julie would end the same way, or even worse, if she found out about his aliens. A blessed relief came when she not only wasn't bothered by his aliens, she found them fascinating.

Ben stared back at the clock. Four in the morning. He sighed. Too late to get much sleep, too early to head down to Mr. Smoothie's.

He turned his light back on and looked through his room, not sure what he was searching for. Then he found it. At the back of his closet was an old journal of his grandfather's. It detailed all his old exploits as a Plumber, and it hadn't been easy to find.

Settling down again on top of his bed, Ben read until the words on the page grew blurry and out of focus. He blinked rapidly, trying to will the sleep away, but it wouldn't obey him. His eyelids fluttered desperately, still wanting to fight it off, but at last he gave in. The journal dropped to the floor, and Ben snoozed peacefully, snoring so loudly he would not be able to hear his alarm go off – exactly twenty minutes from now.

**Author's Note: **I feel I have a tendency to make Kevin the most important character, and the show is still called _Ben _10: Alien Force, so I wanted to focus as much on Ben as possible. I'm glad the show has such a wonderful hero, otherwise I wouldn't bother. Anyways, more later, fight scenes later, too…though not sure if the dinner scene comes before or after that yet.


	4. Surprise

**Author's Note: **Sorry about the lack of updates. Had a doctor's visit and just general life. Oh, it would appear my baby is going to be a boy! Yay! (Now if I could only come up with a middle name…). One reader showed concern this might be a Ben/Kevin fic because I put them as the characters - not going to happen. I love Kevin with Gwen way too much. I put the story as about both of them because I'm hoping to focus mainly on Ben and Kevin. Nothing against the couple, but I really doubt you'll ever see a fic from me about them.

"Tennyson, get up or I'm going to flip your bed." The threat was the first thing Ben heard when he woke up. For a moment, Ben thought he was still dreaming, but a sudden jerking movement landed him both on the floor and back into reality. Kevin Levin was standing over him, glaring. "Move it, we still have to pick Gwen up."

"All right, all right…but we still don't have any leads," Ben complained, sniffing a pair of jeans. "Do these smell clean to you?" he held them out to Kevin, who just stared at him. Shrugging, Ben went ahead and threw the pants on and changed his shirt.

He ran a comb through his hair and threw his favorite green jacket on. "Ta da!" He exclaimed, arms extended in triumph. "How do I look?"

"Like a short dork," Kevin responded without missing a beat. He turned and started walking out of the room and down the stairs, intending Ben to follow him. Ben glanced in the mirror one last time.

"I'm not short," He muttered, then ran to catch up to the older boy.

"Kevin, can I ask you a question?" Ben asked, buckling himself in in the back seat - he had long since come to terms with the fact that when Gwen was in the car, Gwen got the front seat. That rule was very rarely broken.

"You just did," Kevin huffed, checking his rearview before backing out of the drive way and getting back onto the street.

"Yeah, yeah," Ben rolled his eyes, "I mean…I've never really seen you this serious before. It's like Gwen's bet really has a hold on you. You really want a date with her this badly?"

"That's not why I'm doing it," Kevin growled. Ben looked out the window, trying to choose his next words carefully. It's not that he disbelieved Kevin - Okay, actually, that was exactly what it was. Kevin's intensity the past few times Ben had seen him was almost scary.

"Well," Ben thought he had the answer, "Just remember, it's not worth it if you have to change for it, right? …" Ben paused for a moment, and, unfortunately, continued his train of thought out loud, "Except that you used to be a bad guy, so if you hadn't changed from that…huh, well, I suppose _some_ change is good, but I guess what I'm trying to say is you shouldn't have to change _completely_. I mean, yeah, you're a jerk, but Gwen seems to like you that way, so --" Ben finally caught sight of the confused look on Kevin's face and decided to stop there.

"I really do not understand you sometimes, Tennyson," Kevin admitted, rolling to smooth stop at a red light.

"You know, I'm not really sure what I just said," Ben admitted. "My smoothie levels are running dangerously low --"

"We're not stopping for smoothies, don't even bother asking."

"I wasn't going to ask!" Ben defended himself. "I was….well, I _was _going to ask, but I was going to wait until later after you beat someone up and might be feeling more generous."

"You really thought that would work?"

"Has in the past."

Kevin didn't respond, just tapped the gas lightly as the lights changed. He didn't say another word on the way to Gwen's, and Ben found himself worried about the ex-con. Instead of making a big deal about it, Ben resigned himself to watching the houses they passed until they reached his cousin's.

Kevin got out of the car - Gwen was the one person he never just honked at. Although he always had a look like he regretted it whenever it would happen that Gwen's father would reach the door before Gwen could.

This day would be one of those times. "Hi, Uncle Frank," Ben greeted his uncle cheerfully, ignoring him staring Kevin down. Kevin's eyes were focused intently on the ground, pretending to have found something of interest there.

"I'm glad I get to talk to you, Ben," Frank Tennyson said, ushering both boys in. "Your grandmother dropped a letter in the mail a few days ago to say she'd be coming in tomorrow night to see everyone, and she said she'd like to see the whole family."

"..Grandma Verdona actually _warned_ you before dropping in?" Ben was shocked. His uncle nodded.

"I was just as surprised as you are. Apparently she was a bit concerned that she didn't see Carl last time she was here, and she wanted to make it easy to have us all in one place - uh, Kevin, she asked for you to come, too," Frank added.

"..she asked for me to come?" Kevin was surprised, and concerned. As crazy of a life as the Tennysons and he himself lead, Grandma Verdona was the epitome of insanity. Worse, insanity with power.

"Well, she technically wrote 'Curtis', but Gwendolyn believes that referred to you," Frank explained.

"Oh, daddy, did you tell them already?" Gwen had come downstairs while they were talking. She seemed disappointed. "I'd kind of wanted to tell them."

"I'm sorry, sweetie," Frank apologized. "Oh, uh, Ben, you can bring…what was her name? Julia?"

"Julie?" Ben suggested.

"Yes, your little girlfriend. You can bring her too. Only fair, seeing as Gwendolyn has a date."

"Daddy!" Gwen hissed. He smiled and exited the room without another word.

"Grandma's actually coming back in?" Ben remembered his grandmother mentioning stopping in sometimes to check in, but she was such a random, crazy woman that he hadn't expected the visit to come for years. After all, he and Gwen hadn't even met her until they were fifteen.

"Yeah," Gwen nodded. "Dad wants to try to have a quiet dinner with her. Not sure how well _that _is going to go, but it could be fun. But that means you both have to dress nice."

"Aw, man, I am _not _borrowing your grandfather's tux again," Kevin said, shaking his head. "I ripped a hole in it last time and that thing was so stuffy…and do you know how awkward a metal tux is?"

"I can honestly say no to that," Ben said cheerfully. "We'll find you something, and this time we'll avoid Grandpa Max's wardrobe if we can, okay?"

"Okay," Kevin agreed.

"Are we going to go start patrol now or do I need to engrave you both an invitation?" Gwen asked, tapping her foot.

**Author's Note: **Verdona…I just love the character too much, and I decided if I brought her in - especially during a time where people are having to act maturely - it could bring a nice level of humor into the situation. Sorry this chapter was kind of short.


	5. Verdona Returns

**Author's Note: **Originally, I intended to wait until after new episodes started showing to update this. My mind was changed when I realized this story has more than double the story alerts on it than any other story I've written. Besides, the new episodes are supposed to be here in about a week and a half or so (that's the rumor, anyways. And there have been those commercials about Ben 10 week, so I'm inclined to believe it). For those of you who haven't read Mask, I'm sorry – I've been very busy with life in general, which is why I haven't updated in months. I want to get this story done before the baby comes (I doubt I'll have much time for writing when I've got to take care of a newborn). Also, heartburn sucks.

"Unbelievable," Kevin ran a hand through his long hair, his face twisted in puzzlement. "Four nights of patrol. Four nights without so much as a lead. What's going on here? No way we stopped the High Breed, and those Forever Knights are too thick skulled…they've been doing bad guy things for centuries, why would they stop now?"

"They haven't stopped," Ben said from the back seat, leaning forward. "I wish I could say we've scared them off for a while, but I've got a feeling that's not true."

"So?" Gwen asked from the passenger's seat. "What do we do? Driving around blindly's not getting us anywhere. And in the meantime, they've had several nights to put whatever they're planning into action…it'll be a lot harder to stop them if they've gotten everything they need."

She and Ben let out identical sighs. Kevin frowned and stared out of his window. This had never happened before. If they couldn't find the actual goings-on of Forever Knights or High Breeds, they could always find a hint. But there were no hints tonight. It would have been easier for Kevin to drive his car to the moon than to figure out what exactly was being planned at that moment.

Gwen yawned, her arms stretched out as far as they could go in the car's cabin. She smiled apologetically at Kevin as one of her hands accidentally brushed his face. "…Grandma Verdona!"

Kevin whipped his head around so fast that he had to rub his neck. He'd thought that Gwen had seen her grandmother, and so was confused when he looked around and couldn't find her. "Where?" He finally asked.

"Not where…she's coming tonight, anyways…" Gwen stared down at the dashboard, a hand on her chin as she thought. "I have trouble tracing technology, but …Verdona won't. I'm sure of it. Her powers are so far developed."

"And how do we get her to help?" Ben asked, intrigued by the idea.

"Because chasing aliens and bad guys isn't boring. Grandma loves excitement, you know that."

"There's no guarantee," Kevin pointed out. "Yeah, she's crazy, but that makes her unpredictable. Maybe she won't think it's worth her time and would rather go to a disco. You can't know what that old woman would want."

"True," Gwen admitted, sinking back into her seat. "But it's the only shot we've got for now."

Kevin and Ben both remained silent. Neither could think of an argument.

* * *

Ben sat in the passenger's seat, staring out the window. Kevin had just picked him and Julie up to go to Gwen's to meet with his Anodite grandmother for the first time in months. "What's wrong?" Julie asked, leaning forward to touch Ben's arm. Ben didn't reciprocate her touch, but he didn't push her away, either.

"I just don't know. I'm worried. Grandma's kind of…."

"Insane? Demented? Weird?" Kevin suggested. "All of the above, maybe, with a few nuts thrown in?"

Ben smirked. "Yeah, I guess so. And us finding a possible evil plot could rely on us getting her to agree to help. It's kind of nerve wracking."

"Ben, she's your grandmother," Julie gave his arm a pat and then removed her hand. "She'll want to help you any way she can. Besides…how bad can she possibly be?"

* * *

Julie found out a few minutes later how bad Verdona could actually be. The three teens entered Gwen's house to find disco lights blaring and that something was flying over head, too fast to be seen.

"Verdona! Would you _please _get rid of that thing?!" Natalie Tennyson was screaming, running after the unseen flying object.

"Well, you shouldn't have said what you said, dearie," Verdona calmly walked into the living room and snapped her fingers. The object – rather, the creature – slowed its flight and landed safely in Verdona's arms.

Natalie groaned. "All I said was that I'd let Gwen and Ben take a deep space trip with you when…" her eyes settled on the animal in Verdona's arms. It was a small, winged piglet. "When pigs fly."

"And one did. So, they can come, right?" Verdona smiled as innocently as she could manage. Natalie didn't answer her; she merely groaned and walked away, without acknowledging Kevin, Ben, and Julie's arrival.

Verdona, however, _had_ noticed. "Bennie boy! And Kevin!"

Kevin's eye brows went up a bit. "I thought you thought my name was Curtis."

"Nah, I knew better. But if Frank thinks that I don't like you, he's more likely to like you. Seeing as my granddaughter likes you so much, I thought I'd give a little hand. It's not guaranteed to make him like you, but if he knows I like you…well, then he won't like you."

Kevin didn't know how to react to that. So he merely changed the subject. "Where exactly did you want to take Gwen and Ben to? I mean," His eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Ben doesn't have any Anodite powers, and Gwen already told you she's not going."

"Relax. We'll discuss that later. You'll end up like Frank or Carl if you keep worrying at this rate," Verdona gave Kevin a pat on the back that sent him sprawling forward. Ben grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him back before he fell. "Speaking of my sons, they're in the kitchen, probably whispering about how exactly to deal with me." She smiled. "It's so nice to be the center of attention, don't you think? Gwen's upstairs, though. Something about not getting in the middle of it."

"I'm right here, actually," Gwen had come downstairs to see what the commotion earlier had been about. She hopped off the last step and lead the way towards the kitchen. The adults immediately stopped talking when they caught sight of Verdona and the kids.

"Don't stop on our account," Verdona said, sliding into a chair at the head of the table. "Carl, Sandra, it's been a while. But where's Ken?"

"College," Frank answered. "We offered to let him come home to meet you, but he kept saying something about having had enough aliens to deal with the last time he was home."

"Ah. I suppose you three were involved with that?" Verdona's attention turned back to Kevin, Gwen, and Ben. They all nodded. Finally, Verdona noticed Julie at Ben's side. "And who's this?"

"I'm Julie Yamamoto," She held her hand out to Verdona. Verdona took the proffered hand and shook. "Nice to see Ben got such a cute girl. So, what are you?"

Julie looked puzzled. "…what do you mean, what am I?"

"Your race. What planet are your ancestors from, dear?"

"Uh…Earth," Julie looked at Ben for help. Ben shrugged.

"A full human! Well, my grandson must have seen something in you," Verdona said pleasantly.

"Grandpa Max is a full human," Ben pointed out. Verdona nodded.

"Yes, yes, of course. And what a wonderful human he is…now," Verdona clapped her hands together. "What can I do to help dinner get ready?"

Natalie and Sandra exchanged identical looks of horror. Frank stepped in on their behalf. "Mom, why don't you and the kids sit down at the table and talk? Carl, Sandra, and Natalie are going to handle the cooking, and I need to make a quick phone call."

"Very well, dear," Not the least bit put off, Verdona motioned for the teens to all take their seats at the table. "Given any more thought to coming to Anodine, Gwen?"

"She said no already," Kevin said warningly. Verdona, however, merely looked amused.

"I thought you might say something like that, Kevin…but jealousy and possessiveness aren't very, uh, _mature_ emotions."

Gwen looked like she was trying very hard to suppress a laugh. Kevin and Ben both glared at her.

"You told her about the bet?!" Ben demanded.

"Oh, don't be too hard on your cousin," Verdona patted Ben's hand gently, "I just wanted to know what she was laughing so hard on the phone about yesterday. Honestly, I don't think she was right to make it…Frank, Carl…even Max have accused me of being immature."

"I can hardly believe it," Kevin muttered sarcastically, "Who would ever call _you _immature?"

"Sarcasm's not very mature either," Julie pointed out. Kevin glared.

This was going to be a very long night.


	6. The Request

**Author's Note: **This story is cursed. No, seriously, it's cursed. After fighting back writer's block and deciding to write more anyways, I got up from the computer and was about to come back to work on this chapter and finish it. My water broke before I made it back to the computer. So I've got a two week old, thus why I haven't been updating any stories recently, so be patient with me. He's asleep now, so hopefully I can get this done. More motivated when I realized that this story is still easily beating out all my others for most story alerts. Sorry for the long wait, guys! Warning: I am on pain meds while I write this. Let's see if that affects it!

"So…are you kids going to keep me in the dark, or would you like to explain why you all keep looking at me like that?" Verdona asked as she helped herself to another serving of mashed potatoes.

Ben looked away guiltily, turning to Gwen for help. She took the hint. "Well…it's like this, Grandma. We need help finding…"

"This better not be Plumber business," Frank said, rubbing his temple. "It's bad enough I have to constantly be worried about you and your cousin; I'm sure your grandma's too busy to help you guys with patrol anyways."

"Nonsense!" Verdona clapped her hands, her expression almost greedy. "I'm nowhere near too busy to help my own grandkids."

"Mom, maybe you shouldn't get involved?" Carl suggested. "I mean, Ben, you guys are doing all right without her, right?" He didn't wait for Ben to answer. "Besides, the kids know that they can ask their _parents_ for help if they need it. Right?"

"Uh…" Ben gulped. "Well, the thing is, Dad….umm…how do I say this?" Again, he looked to Gwen. She shook her head. The expression on her face clearly said _You handle it this time_. "It's just that Grandma…"

"Your mom has powers, you guys don't." Kevin interrupted.

"Kevin!" Gwen chastised. He shrugged.

"You weren't saying it and neither was Tennyson. Fact is, we need Verdona because she's got alien abilities. We need someone strong enough to trace tech that may not even be there…Gwen wasn't able to do it, and Ben doesn't have any tracking abilities. Only tracker I can read is a Plumber's badge, and not too many bad guys have those…especially since I crushed Morningstar's…"

"Well, there you go, Carl, Frank," Verdona was smiling brightly now. "The kids need my help. Do you really expect me to turn my back on them?"

"Verdona," Natalie said, placing her fork down beside her plate, "You tend to be…well, reckless. If the kids need your help, fine, but that makes them your responsibility, as the only adult able to help them. You do understand that, right?"

"No wonder Gwen turned out so serious," Verdona looked like it was taking everything she had to hold back an eye roll. "I can keep them safe, you know that."

"Good."

"I just don't see any reason why I can't have _fun _with it," Verdona added. "C'mon, kids. Let's head out to find your…uh…well, who are we looking for?"

"Either Dnaliens or Forever Knights," Ben explained.

"Ah. Yes, those…things," Verdona nodded enthusiastically, setting her fork down. "I just hope I can keep up with you." The smirk on her face clearly explained that she was joking, and it was making everyone at the table weary.

"Somehow I doubt that'll be the problem," Kevin muttered.

He did not take it as a good sign when Verdona's smile widened at his comment.

* * *

A few hours later, after dessert had been finished, the dishes had been washed and Julie had been dropped off at her own home, the three teens and Verdona were all sitting in Kevin's car, Gwen studying her grandmother intently as she concentrated on tracking.

"The problem you're having with tracking, sweetie, is that you're too attached," Verdona's eyes stopped glowing and she turned in her seat to face Gwen in the back. "We could solve that problem, if you -"

"Nothing about Anodine," Kevin insisted, his eyes narrowing. "Did you figure anything out or not?"

"Patience is a sign of maturity," Verdona said, smiling pointedly. "If you showed more, you might just win that bet of yours." Kevin had no response, merely turned to face towards the road, tapping on his steering wheel as though it was the only thing stopping him from snapping at the old woman. "As I was saying, Gwen…you're too attached. If you cared a little less, these things would be a snap for you."

"I don't think that'll work for her, Grandma," Ben came to his cousin's aid before she could say anything. "Gwen's a good person…not that you're not…except you're not a person, you're an alien so….I don't know what I'm saying anymore."

"I don't understand. Why would caring make me bad at tracking technology?"

"You don't care quite as much about finding it, dear," Verdona explained. "With a living being you have a sense of urgency, and that makes it easier for you. Of course, with a bit more training, you'll learn to do technology," she held up her hands when she noticed that all three of the kids were about to argue with her, "I'm not saying that training has to take place on Anodine. Just keep practicing and you'll learn."

Gwen and Ben relaxed, but Kevin remained rigid.

"You kids act like you don't trust me," Verdona said, but her smile didn't vanish.

"Just tell us if you figured out what's going on yet," Kevin said, opting not to look at Verdona.

"Of course," Verdona agreed. "It's the uh, knight group you were talking about. They're out in Los Soledad."

"…What would the Forever Knights be doing in Los Soledad?" Ben asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "That was a DNAlien hide out."

"Doesn't matter. Whatever they're up to, we're checking into it," Kevin said, shifting the car in gear.

"Oh, goodie," Verdona buckled her seat belt, the sheer joy obvious in her eyes. "I do love a good party…step on it, kiddo."

"Don't call me kiddo," Kevin muttered.

"Oh, sorry," Verdona apologized, but her smile didn't vanish. "….kiddo."


	7. Find the Doorbell

**Author's Note: **I was wondering why no one had responded to my latest chapter for this story…..then I realized I'd never _uploaded _the chapter, therefore, no response. Wow. Lack of sleep does strange things to you.

"Stop here, Kevin," Ben suggested. Kevin grumbled at the perceived order, but did as he was asked. They were on the very outskirts of Los Soledad, staring at what they knew to be a mere hologram, a vision of an abandoned town cloaking a much more sinister intent.

The group unloaded, and Kevin, Gwen and Ben started to head towards the town. "Where are you going?" Verdona asked, when she realized the kids were going the opposite of the direction she'd intended.

"….to…fight the Forever Knights?" Ben said slowly. Verdona chuckled.

"Well, if you're a skilled enough hero to fight them in a place they aren't even at, your powers may just be as great as we Anodites."

"So it's not a team up?" Kevin asked.

"I said it was Forever Knights, didn't I?" Verdona asked impatiently. "When did I ever say your stupid TB Aliens were involved?"

"DNAliens, Grandma," Gwen corrected. "TB is a really horrible virus."

"TB, DNA, either way they're not involved!" Verdona threw up her hands as though she were exasperated. "Our goal is to head into that mine over there."

The teenagers all looked in the direction Verdona was, then shared equally confused looks. There was nothing out there but desert. A few mountains in the distance, but no visible mine.

"Oh, I keep forgetting….two humans and a not-fully realized Anodite--"

"Not technically humans," Kevin muttered. "Ben's a quarter Anodite, too, and I'm--"

"Yes, yes, we'll go over that later," Verdona insisted. "The mine is hidden. It doesn't take that sharp an eye; even you should be able to see it, Kevin…."

It was Ben who noticed first. "That group of cactuses --"

"Cacti," Gwen corrected.

"Whatever! Fine, the group of 'cacti'," Ben continued, "They're really close together, even though the rest are all spread apart, with at least a foot in between them. It doesn't look natural. Maybe they have an underground mine?"

"Very good, Ben!" Verdona clapped him on the back. "So, Gwen, how many are we dealing with?"

"Can't you just tell us?" Kevin pointed out, his temper starting to come through in his tone of voice.

"I could, but I want to see her practice."

"She's already got that move down, _granny_," Kevin took a step towards Verdona. "Can you stop playing games with us? We need to take those guys out and save the world. Just because you don't care what happens here…"

"Careful, sonny. Don't want to start something you can't finish.." Verdona said.

"Have you met Kevin?" Ben asked pointedly. "He does that all the time."

"Don't start with me, Tennyson. I may not touch your grandma cause she's ancient, but I can still take you on…"

"Excuse me? Who won our last fight? Oh, that's right…me."

"Yeah, well you were turned into Rainbow Bright. Let's see you try it on your own sometime…"

"That's enough you three!" Gwen hissed. "Grandma Verdona, stop egging him on. Kevin, cool it, and Ben….why are you making that face?"

"He called Chromastone 'rainbow bright'. That is the lamest name I've ever heard!"

"Well it works with the rainbow beams he fires," Gwen pointed out, "So just let it go," Kevin opened his mouth to speak, but Gwen rounded on him. "And don't forget that you're the one who keeps starting things! We are all going to focus on the mission. Got it?"

"Yeah, you're right," Ben agreed. Kevin merely nodded, but Verdona blatantly rolled her eyes at her granddaughter. Gwen chose to ignore the action.

Ben slid easily back into his team leader role, making his way towards where the aforementioned cacti were bundled far too closely in a group, motioning for the others to follow. "Now…how do we get in there?" He asked, examining a nearby cactus.

Kevin, in an attempt to vent his frustrations without angering Gwen once more, kicked the cactus nearest him. The ground shook for a moment as the sand below them shifted, knocking the cacti aside and revealing a door in the ground.

"Looks like I found the door bell…" He commented.

"We have to be careful," Gwen noted, the pink mana making her eyes glow. "There's at least forty Forever Knights down there, and it looks like there may be some underground chambers that I can't look into, so there could be even more."

"There are deeper chambers," Verdona announced, her eyes glowing with the same energy as Gwen's, "But there aren't any Knights down there. That is, however, where they're hiding it."

"Hiding what?" Ben asked.

"Somehow they found a time machine."

"Oh no…Not Paradox's old one….I thought it had exploded!"

"The pieces were left. They rebuilt it," Verdona said simply. "Have you kids dealt with this machine before?"

"Yeah, and the whack job responsible for the machine…" Kevin said, cautiously peering around. In his mind, this meant another visit from Paradox would be imminent, and he was certain that within mere minutes the time traveler would appear from midair, as was his practice.

"So that's why they're near a Dnalien hive…Paradox said they needed quartz crystals for the machine…that must be the reason for the mine, too," Gwen worked their plan out aloud.

"This can't be good," Ben said. "Do you guys remember Hugo?"

"Yeah…can't forget suddenly being as old as she is," Kevin said, jerking his thumb in Verdona's direction.

"Mind your elders, and that tongue of yours," Verdona said, her eyes flashing for a moment as tape appeared over Kevin's mouth. He ripped it off.

"I'd be more impressed if you hadn't used that trick on Ben once already."

"We can snark at each other later," Ben insisted, "For right now, it's hero time, all right?"

Kevin looked like he was about to disagree, but a look from Gwen silenced him. "Oh, all right..." He conceded. "Let's go see what the tin can gang is up to...."


	8. Paradox Returns

**Author's Note: **Whoops, noticed that I shifted a bit too much attention onto Kevin. Hopefully I rectify that with this chapter. I have a habit of bringing Verdona into any story I can find an excuse for. I kept looking for excuses to bring Paradox into stories as well, but it really only worked in Changing Times. Guess who shows up in this chapter? Yep. Paradox and Verdona. Working together. For the win (God, I would kill for an episode where that happened). The reason I opted for Forever Knights over DNAliens was by the time I got to that point, the season finale had aired. As such, subsequent chapters should be viewed with the finale in mind. In other words, High Breed are defeated. Last chapter's mention of Dnaliens can be ignored now, please. Also, a huge note - I finally went back and rewatched Paradox and found that not only was the time machine destroyed, it collapsed into itself. So I will explain that in this chapter.

"I don't understand," Ben said softly as the group snuck down the mine. So far they had run into no one. "What would the Forever Knights want with a time machine?"

"Are you seriously asking that?" Kevin demanded, "They walk around in armor and act all old-timey and you want to know what they'd want to do with a time machine…"

Ben considered it. "All right, fair point. But is it potentially dangerous?"

"More than you could ever possibly begin to understand."

The teenagers all jumped, but Verdona merely stared. Professor Paradox had appeared seemingly out of thin air. "Hello, Ben, Kevin, Gwen….and Verdona, I don't believe we've met yet….but then, we only meet twice and the more times I go through those scenarios the easier it is to forget which one was our first meeting."

"Friend of yours?" Verdona asked Ben. He nodded.

"This is Professor Paradox…he's a time traveler. He's helped us save the world twice now."

"I helped you, eh?" Paradox asked, pulling his pocket watch out and studying it.

"Or we helped you, whatever. It doesn't matter!" Ben insisted. "What are you doing here, anyways?"

"Time traveling hero, Ben, remember? I have to go to any moment of time where something could go wrong and fix it."

"So, how do we fix this?" Kevin asked.

"Well, the issue here is definitely numbers. Unlike when we attacked the DNAliens and High Breed, we have no extra allies and the Forever Knights easily outnumber us…."

"Why so worried?" Verdona asked, "They're just a bunch of humans. No offense, but I've yet to see your kind do anything that impressive."

"What about us, Grandma?" Ben demanded.

Verdona snorted. "You're a quarter Anodite and your grandfather was Max Tennyson. It's no surprise you're out of the ordinary, and you," she said before Kevin could speak, "Are part alien yourself, right?"

"Now's not the time for your prejudices," Paradox interrupted.

"Wait…didn't the time machine completely collapse? I mean, the pieces fell into the vortex it created. There's no way for them to piece it back together!" Ben suddenly exclaimed. Paradox shook his head.

"I'm afraid one of their researchers is brighter than I anticipated…though not as smart as I am, of course. He found some of my research and was able to piece together enough of it to come up with his own theory of time travel. It's not the same as mine, but it will function…."

"How well?" Gwen asked.

"Too well," Paradox answered. "It's an imperfect model. It's going to generate a time warping blast that will force everything within sixty miles of this location back to medieval times."

"Is that what they're trying for?" Ben asked.

"I have a hunch that what they're trying to do is go back to when they first captured a dragon," Paradox said, "And my hunches are most often correct."

"We met him…." Ben said, "But why are they going through this much trouble just to get a dragon back?"

"Sometimes you ask the most obvious questions, Ben," Paradox said in lieu of an answer.

"Are we going to keep standing around or are we going to get fighting? Anodites may have an extended life span, but we also get bored very easily," Verdona said testily.

"Ah, yes, you never were very patient, any of the times I've met you," Paradox said.

Verdona glared at him, manna flowing to her hand.

"I would advise against such an action. It's likely to cause a cave in," Paradox pointed out. Verdona seemed to consider it. "And besides, I was about to say that I agree with you and that we should probably attend to the matter at hand."

"Do you know what's going on?" Ben leaned over and asked Kevin.

"The two old people don't seem to like each other that much and we need to go mangle a bunch of knights."

"Oh. So long as that's all it is…" Ben said, smirking as he rotated the face of the omnitrix. "Big Chill!" he exclaimed as his form changed to an enormous blue moth-like alien.

The group finished their descent through the narrow corridor and stopped when it widened into a full cavern. There were knights all over the place, most busy stacking quartz crystals, some standing guard. Standing at a newly built time machine was Conner and beside him, busying himself with programming the time machine was Dr. Joseph Chadwick.

"Any way we could do this quietly?" Ben asked.

"No," Paradox, Kevin and Gwen all chorused in unison.

"Why not?" He demanded. In answer, all three pointed to Verdona, who was already engaging the knights in battle.

Ben groaned. "And you think Kevin and I act immature," He said to Gwen before spreading his wings and joining the fight. Paradox disappeared from Kevin and Gwen's side and turned up beside Dr. Chadwick.

"Well, we can't let Ben and the old farts have all the fun, can we Gwen?" Kevin said, absorbing the cave wall to don a rock coating.

"Guess not…"

**Author's Note: **Yeah, yeah, I always stop short of the battles. I'm not a terribly good action writer, so I want to wait a little longer when I'm more focused and can do the battle justice. Hopefully it'll be up soon.


End file.
